Across-Breed EPD Tables For The Year 2016 Adjusted To Breed Differences For Birth Year Of 2014

Factors to adjust the expected progeny differences (EPD) of each of 18 breeds to the base of Angus EPD are reported in the column labeled 6 of Tables 1-8 for birth weight, weaning weight, yearling weight, maternal milk, marbling score, ribeye area, fat thickness, and carcass weight, respectively. An EPD is adjusted to the Angus base by adding the corresponding acrossbreed adjustment factor in column 6 to the EPD. It is critical that this adjustment be applied only to Spring 2016 EPD. Older or newer EPD may be computed on different bases and, therefore, could produce misleading results. When the base of a breed changes from year to year, its adjustment factor (Column 6) changes in the opposite direction and by about the same amount. Breed differences change over time as breeds put selection emphasis on different traits and their genetic trends differ accordingly. Therefore, it is necessary to qualify the point in time at which breed differences are represented. Column 5 of Tables 1-8 contains estimates of the differences between the averages of calves from sires of each breed born in year 2014. Any differences (relative to their breed means) in the samples of sires representing those breeds at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USU.S. Meat Animal Research Center) are adjusted out of these breed difference estimates and the across-breed adjustment factors. The breed difference estimates are reported as progeny differences, e.g., they represent the expected difference in progeny performance of calves sired by average bulls (born in 2014) of two different breeds and out of dams of a third, unrelated breed. In other words, they represent half the differences that would be expected between purebreds of the two breeds

Birth and weaning traits in crossbred cattle from Hereford, Angus, Norwegian Red, Swedish Red and White, Wagyu, and Friesian sires

The objective of this study was to characterize breeds representing diverse biological types for birth and weaning traits in crossbred cattle (Bos taurus). Gestation length, calving diffi culty, percentage of unassisted calving, percentage of perinatal survival, percentage of survival from birth to weaning, birth weight, weaning weight, BW at 205 d, and ADG was measured in 1,370 calves born and 1,285 calves weaned. Calves were obtained by mating Hereford, Angus, and U.S. Meat Animal Research Center III (1/4 Hereford, 1/4 Angus, 1/4 Pinzgauer, and 1/4 Red Poll) mature cows to Hereford or Angus (British breeds), Norwegian Red, Swedish Red and White, Wagyu, and Friesian sires. Calves were born during the spring of 1997 and 1998. Sire breed was signifi cant for gestation length, birth weight, BW at 205 d, and ADG (P \u3c 0.001). Offspring from Swedish Red and White and Friesian had the shortest gestation length (282 d), whereas offspring from Wagyu sires had the longest gestation length (286 d). Progeny from British breeds were the heaviest at birth (40.5 kg) and at 205 d (237 kg), and grew faster (0.97 kg/d) than offspring from other breeds. Offspring from Wagyu sires were the lightest at birth (36.3 kg) and at 205 d (214 kg), and had the slowest growth (0.91 kg/d). Dam breed was signifi cant for gestation length (P \u3c 0.001), birth weight (P = 0.009), BW at 205 d, and ADG (P \u3c 0.001). Offspring from Hereford cows had the longest gestation length (284 d), whereas offspring from Angus cows had the shortest (282 d). Offspring from U.S. Meat Animal Research Center III cows were the heaviest at birth (39.4 kg) when compared with offspring from Hereford (38.2 kg) and Angus (38.6 kg) cows. Progeny from Angus cows were the heaviest at 205 d (235 kg) and grew faster (0.96 kg/d), whereas offspring from Hereford cows were the lightest at 205 d (219 kg) and were the slowest in growth (0.88 kg/d). Sex was signifi cant for gestation length (P = 0.026), birth weight, BW at 205 d, and ADG (P \u3c 0.001). Male calves had a longer gestation length (284 d) when compared with female calves (283 d). Males were heavier than females at birth and at 205 d, and grew faster. Sire breed effects can be optimized by selection and use of appropriate crossbreeding systems

Birth and weaning traits in crossbred cattle from Hereford, Angus, Brahman, Boran, Tuli, and Belgian Blue sires

The objective of this study was to characterize breeds representing diverse biological types for birth and weaning traits in crossbred cattle. Gestation length, calving difficulty, percentage of unassisted calving, percentage of perinatal survival, percentage of survival from birth to weaning, birth weight, BW at 200 d, and ADG were measured in 2,500 calves born and 2,395 calves weaned. Calves were obtained by mating Hereford, Angus, and U.S. Meat Animal Research Center III (one-fourth Hereford, one-fourth Angus, one-fourth Pinzgauer, and one-fourth Red Poll) mature cows to Hereford or Angus (British breed), Brahman, Tuli, Boran, and Belgian Blue sires. Calves were born during the spring seasons of 1992, 1993, and 1994. Sire breed was significant for all traits (P \u3c 0.002). Offspring from British breeds and the Belgian Blue breed had the shortest gestation length (285 d) when compared with progeny from other sire breeds (average of 291 d). Calving difficulty was greater in offspring from Brahman sires (1.24), whereas the offspring of Tuli sires had the least amount of calving difficulty (1.00). Offspring from all sire breeds had similar perinatal survival and survival from birth to weaning (average of 97.2 and 96.2%, respectively), with the exception of offspring from Brahman sires, which had less (92.8 and 90.4%, respectively). Progeny of Brahman sires were heaviest at birth (45.7 kg), followed by offspring from British breed, Boran, and Belgian Blue sires (average of 42.4 kg). The lightest offspring at birth were from Tuli sires (38.6 kg). Progeny derived from Brahman sires were the heaviest at 200 d (246 kg), and they grew faster (1.00 kg/d) than offspring from any other group. The progeny of British breeds and the Belgian Blue breed had an intermediate BW at 200 d (238 kg) and an intermediate ADG (average of 0.98 kg/d). The progeny of Boran and Tuli sires were the lightest at 200 d (227 kg) and had the least ADG (0.93 kg/d). Male calves had a longer gestation length, had a greater incidence of calving difficulty, had greater mortality to weaning, were heavier, and grew faster than female calves. Sire breed effects can be optimized by selection and use of appropriate crossbreeding systems

Birth and weaning traits in crossbred cattle from Hereford, Angus, Norwegian Red, Swedish Red and White, Wagyu, and Friesian sires

The objective of this study was to characterize breeds representing diverse biological types for birth and weaning traits in crossbred cattle (Bos taurus). Gestation length, calving diffi culty, percentage of unassisted calving, percentage of perinatal survival, percentage of survival from birth to weaning, birth weight, weaning weight, BW at 205 d, and ADG was measured in 1,370 calves born and 1,285 calves weaned. Calves were obtained by mating Hereford, Angus, and U.S. Meat Animal Research Center III (1/4 Hereford, 1/4 Angus, 1/4 Pinzgauer, and 1/4 Red Poll) mature cows to Hereford or Angus (British breeds), Norwegian Red, Swedish Red and White, Wagyu, and Friesian sires. Calves were born during the spring of 1997 and 1998. Sire breed was signifi cant for gestation length, birth weight, BW at 205 d, and ADG (P \u3c 0.001). Offspring from Swedish Red and White and Friesian had the shortest gestation length (282 d), whereas offspring from Wagyu sires had the longest gestation length (286 d). Progeny from British breeds were the heaviest at birth (40.5 kg) and at 205 d (237 kg), and grew faster (0.97 kg/d) than offspring from other breeds. Offspring from Wagyu sires were the lightest at birth (36.3 kg) and at 205 d (214 kg), and had the slowest growth (0.91 kg/d). Dam breed was signifi cant for gestation length (P \u3c 0.001), birth weight (P = 0.009), BW at 205 d, and ADG (P \u3c 0.001). Offspring from Hereford cows had the longest gestation length (284 d), whereas offspring from Angus cows had the shortest (282 d). Offspring from U.S. Meat Animal Research Center III cows were the heaviest at birth (39.4 kg) when compared with offspring from Hereford (38.2 kg) and Angus (38.6 kg) cows. Progeny from Angus cows were the heaviest at 205 d (235 kg) and grew faster (0.96 kg/d), whereas offspring from Hereford cows were the lightest at 205 d (219 kg) and were the slowest in growth (0.88 kg/d). Sex was signifi cant for gestation length (P = 0.026), birth weight, BW at 205 d, and ADG (P \u3c 0.001). Male calves had a longer gestation length (284 d) when compared with female calves (283 d). Males were heavier than females at birth and at 205 d, and grew faster. Sire breed effects can be optimized by selection and use of appropriate crossbreeding systems

Postweaning growth and carcass traits in crossbred cattle from Hereford, Angus, Brangus, Beefmaster, Bonsmara, and Romosinuano maternal grandsires

The objective of this study was to characterize breeds representing diverse biological types for postweaning growth and carcass composition traits in terminal crossbred cattle. Postweaning growth and carcass traits were analyzed on 464 steers and 439 heifers obtained by mating F1 cows to Charolais and U.S. Meat Animal Research Center III (1/4 Hereford, 1/4 Angus, 1/4 Pinzgauer, and ¼ Red Poll) sires. The F1 cows were obtained from mating Angus and U.S. Meat Animal Research Center III dams to Hereford, Angus, Beefmaster, Brangus, Bonsmara, and Romosinuano sires. Traits evaluated were postweaning ADG, slaughter weight, HCW, dressing percentage, percentage of carcasses classified as USDA Choice, LM area, marbling score, USDA yield grade, fat thickness, retail product yield (percentage), and retail product weight. Maternal grandsire breed was significant (P \u3c 0.05) for all traits. Animals with Angus grandsires grew faster and had the heaviest carcasses, with the greatest percentage of carcasses classified as USDA Choice and the greatest marbling scores when compared with other grandsire breeds. Animals with Romosinuano and Bonsmara inheritance grew slower, had the lightest weights at slaughter, the lightest carcass weights, the least percentage of carcasses classified as USDA Choice, and the least amount of marbling and fat thickness. Animals with inheritance from these 2 breeds had a more desirable yield grade with the greatest retail product yield. Maternal granddam breed was significant (P \u3c 0.05) for marbling score, USDA yield grade, fat thickness, and retail product yield. Sex class was significant (P \u3c 0.05) for all traits except for retail product yield. Steers grew faster, were heavier, had heavier carcasses, and were leaner than heifers. Heifers had a greater dressing percentage, a greater percentage of carcasses classified as USDA Choice, a greater LM area, and a decreased yield grade when compared with steers. Sire and grandsire breed effects can be optimized by selection and use of appropriate crossbreeding systems

Breeding Sustainable Beef Cows: Reducing Weight and Increasing Productivity

Programs for sustainable beef production are established, but the specific role of beef cows in these systems is not well defined. This work characterized cows for two traits related to sustainability, cow weight (CW) and cumulative weight weaned (WtW). Cow weight indicates nutrient requirements and enteric methane emissions. Cumulative weight weaned reflects reproductive performance and avoidance of premature culling for characteristics related to animal health, welfare, and worker safety. Both traits were evaluated with random regression models with records from a crossbred population representing 18 breeds that conduct US national cattle evaluations. The genomic REML analyses included additive and dominance components, with relationships among 22,776 animals constructed from genotypes of 181,286 potentially functional variants imputed from a low-pass sequence. Projected to 8 years of age, the additive heritability estimate for CW was 0.57 and 0.11 for WtW. Dominance heritability was 0.02 for CW and 0.19 for WtW. Many variants with significant associations with CW were within previously described quantitative trait loci (QTL) for growthrelated production, meat, and carcass traits. Significant additive WtW variants were covered by QTL for traits related to reproduction and structural soundness. All breeds contributed to groups of cows with high and low total genetic values (additive + dominance effects) for both traits. The high WtW cows and cows above the WtW mean but below the CW mean had larger heterosis values and fewer bases in runs of homozygosity. The high additive heritability of CW and dominance effects on WtW indicate that breeding to improve beef cow sustainability should involve selection to reduce CW and mate selection to maintain heterosis and reduce runs of homozygosity. Simple Summary: Improving the sustainability of beef cows involves reducing feed costs and enteric methane emissions and increasing calf production while addressing concerns including animal health and welfare and worker safety. Reducing cow weight can favorably impact feed costs and methane emissions. Cumulative weight weaned observed throughout a cow’s productive life directly addresses calf production and indirectly addresses other concerns—cumulative production is higher for cows who wean healthy calves and avoid culling because of reproductive failure, unsoundness, and dangerous behavior. Using functional variant genotypes imputed from the low-coverage whole genome sequence, this examination of cow weight and cumulative weight weaned in a herd of crossbred cattle resulted in additive heritability estimates of 0.57 for cow weight and 0.11 for weight weaned by 8-year-old cows. Corresponding dominance heritability estimates were 0.02 for cow weight and 0.19 for weight weaned. All breeds were represented by cows projected to have high and low cow weights and weight weaned. Heterosis was higher and genomic inbreeding, measured by runs of homozygosity, was lower among high-weight weaned cows. These results suggest selection should be effective in reducing cow weight. Selection to increase weight weaned will be slow but can be hastened with crossbreeding. Especially when pedigree is not available to estimate heterosis, runs of homozygosity may be a useful indicator of heterosis and a predictor of cumulative productivity. Beef cow sustainability can be improved with appropriate crossbreeding and selection, and may be accelerated by incorporating functional variants associated with sustainability-related traits

Estimation of breed-specific heterosis effects for birth, weaning, and yearling weight in cattle

Heterosis, assumed proportional to expected breed heterozygosity, was calculated for 6834 individuals with birth, weaning and yearling weight records from Cycle VII and advanced generations of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) Germplasm Evaluation (GPE) project. Breeds represented in these data included: Angus, Hereford, Red Angus, Charolais, Gelbvieh, Simmental, Limousin and Composite MARC III. Heterosis was further estimated by proportions of British × British (B × B), British × Continental (B × C) and Continental × Continental (C × C) crosses and by breed-specific combinations. Model 1 fitted fixed covariates for heterosis within biological types while Model 2 fitted random breed-specific combinations nested within the fixed biological type covariates. Direct heritability estimates (SE) for birth, weaning ,and yearling weight for Model 1 were 0.42 (0.04), 0.22 (0.03), and 0.39 (0.05), respectively. The direct heritability estimates (SE) of birth, weaning, and yearling weight for Model 2 were the same as Model 1, except yearling weight heritability was 0.38 (0.05). The B × B, B × C, and C × C heterosis estimates for birth weight were 0.47 (0.37), 0.75 (0.32), and 0.73 (0.54) kg, respectively. The B × B, B × C, and C × C heterosis estimates for weaning weight were 6.43 (1.80), 8.65 (1.54), and 5.86 (2.57) kg, respectively. Yearling weight estimates for B × B, B × C, and C × C heterosis were 17.59(3.06), 13.88 (2.63), and 9.12 (4.34) kg, respectively. Differences did exist among estimates of breed-specific heterosis for weaning and yearling weight, although the variance component associated with breed-specific heterosis was not significant. These results illustrate that there are differences in breed-specific heterosis and exploiting these differences can lead to varying levels of heterosis among mating plans

Estimation of breed-specific heterosis effects for birth, weaning, and yearling weight in cattle

Heterosis, assumed proportional to expected breed heterozygosity, was calculated for 6834 individuals with birth, weaning and yearling weight records from Cycle VII and advanced generations of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) Germplasm Evaluation (GPE) project. Breeds represented in these data included: Angus, Hereford, Red Angus, Charolais, Gelbvieh, Simmental, Limousin and Composite MARC III. Heterosis was further estimated by proportions of British × British (B × B), British × Continental (B × C) and Continental × Continental (C × C) crosses and by breed-specific combinations. Model 1 fitted fixed covariates for heterosis within biological types while Model 2 fitted random breed-specific combinations nested within the fixed biological type covariates. Direct heritability estimates (SE) for birth, weaning ,and yearling weight for Model 1 were 0.42 (0.04), 0.22 (0.03), and 0.39 (0.05), respectively. The direct heritability estimates (SE) of birth, weaning, and yearling weight for Model 2 were the same as Model 1, except yearling weight heritability was 0.38 (0.05). The B × B, B × C, and C × C heterosis estimates for birth weight were 0.47 (0.37), 0.75 (0.32), and 0.73 (0.54) kg, respectively. The B × B, B × C, and C × C heterosis estimates for weaning weight were 6.43 (1.80), 8.65 (1.54), and 5.86 (2.57) kg, respectively. Yearling weight estimates for B × B, B × C, and C × C heterosis were 17.59(3.06), 13.88 (2.63), and 9.12 (4.34) kg, respectively. Differences did exist among estimates of breed-specific heterosis for weaning and yearling weight, although the variance component associated with breed-specific heterosis was not significant. These results illustrate that there are differences in breed-specific heterosis and exploiting these differences can lead to varying levels of heterosis among mating plans

Evaluating a New Shade for Feedlot Cattle Performance and Heat Stress

Heat stress in cattle results in decreased feed intake, lower daily gain, and potentially death in susceptible animals under intense conditions. A study was carried out during the summer of 2013 at the USDA-ARS U.S. Meat Animal Research Center feedlot evaluating the impact of shade on environmental conditions and cattle performance. A novel two-tiered shade was used in half of the 14 pens, each holding 30 animals. The shades were designed to reduce solar heat load by 40% to 60% and to provide traveling shade across the pen, providing varied amounts of shade area as well as varied solar reduction potential. The objective of this study was to determine if the shade was effective at improving performance (evaluated as average daily gain, feed intake, and feed to gain ratio) and reducing environmental conditions that cause heat stress. A group of mixed-breed cattle with varied genetics including both and were selected, penned on the basis of sex, and blocked by color. Production parameters of pen feed usage were measured daily, and individual body weights were taken monthly. Environmental conditions including air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, ground temperature, and black globe temperature with and without shade were measured. Solar load on the pens was reduced when shade was provided, with both ground temperature and black globe temperature showing reductions. Cattle showed nominally better performance; however, no significant differences were found in gain or feed intake. Panting scores were significantly lower with shade provided; slopes of cattle respiration rate versus ambient temperature were significantly lower with shade during the afternoon period

Comparison of different functions to describe growth from weaning to maturity in crossbred beef cattle

Cow mature weight (MWT) has increased in the past 30 yr. Larger cows cost more to maintain, but their efficiency—and thus profitability— depends on the production environment. Incorporating MWT effectively into selection and mating decisions requires understanding of growth to maturity. The objective of this study was to describe growth to maturity in crossbred beef cattle using Brody, spline, and quadratic functions. Parameter estimates utilized data on crossbred cows from cycle VII and continuous sampling phases of the Germplasm Evaluation Program at the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center. The MWT were estimated at 6 yr from the fitted parameters obtained from the Brody (BMWT), spline (SMWT), and quadratic (QMWT) functions. These were defined as BMWT, SMWT, and QMWT for the Brody, spline, and quadratic functions, respectively. Key parameters from the Brody function were BMWT and maturing constant. The spline was fitted as piecewise linear where the two linear functions joined at a knot. Key parameters were knot position and SMWT. For the quadratic model, the main parameter considered was QMWT. Data were scaled for fitting such that 180 d was the y-intercept with the average weight at 180 d (214.3 kg) subtracted from all weights. Weights were re-expressed by adding 214.3 kg after analysis. Once data were edited, with outliers removed, there were parameter estimates for 5,156, 5,041, and 4,905 cows for the Brody, spline, and quadratic functions, respectively. The average maturing constant (SD) was 0.0023 d−1 (0.0008 d−1). The mean MWT estimates (SD) from the Brody, spline, and quadratic functions were 650.0 kg (64.0 kg), 707.3 kg (79.8 kg), and 597.8 kg (116.7 kg), respectively. The spline function had the highest average R2 value when fit to individual cows’ data. However, the Brody function produced more consistent MWT estimates regardless of the timeframe of data available and produced the fewest extreme MWT. For the spline and quadratic functions, weights through 4 and 5 yr of age, respectively, were needed before consistent estimates of MWT were obtained. Of the three functions fitted, the Brody was best suited for estimating MWT at a later age in crossbred beef cattle